Friends Attending

Description

By popular demand, Richard makes his third public appearance in Atlanta, having performed at the 2004 Fabulous Fox Organ Weekend and opening the 2013 ATOS National Convention. Arguably the finest practitioner of the art of theatre organ playing today, Richard Hills is one of the very few musicians to have truly mastered the divide between the world of the classical organ and that of the theatre organ. Having trained under William Whitehead at Kings School Rochester, he became Organ Scholar at Exeter College Oxford, studying with David Sanger. Further organ scholarships followed at Portsmouth Cathedral and Westminster Abbey. He now pursues a freelance career and is Organist at St Mary's, Bourne Street, in London.

His career in the theatre organ world has been equally prestigious. He has numerous prizes and awards to his credit, both in England and in the USA where he was named 2010 Organist of the Year by the American Theatre Organ Society. He has appeared many times on national and international TV and radio and has several recording credits.

The Instrument

Richard will debut the "new" Grande Page 4/22 theatre pipe organ. After many painstaking man hours, the organ is now functioning at full specifcation and has just undergone tonal finishing by masters Clark Wilson and Carlton Smith. Richard's orchestral arrangements will showcase the full resources now available on this legendary instrument.

The 1927 Grande Page theatre organ was originally designed for WHT Radio in Chicago, and it was said to be the largest such theatre organ installed in a radio station. The organ eventually made its way to Atlanta in 1977 and was donated to the Atlanta Chapter of the American Theatre Organ Society in 1991. After drafting an agreement in 1992 to incorporate the instrument into the newly proposed Stephenson High School, restoration efforts soon began to prepare the one-of-a-kind musical treasure for its new home.

The Grande Page organ boasts a massive four-manual (keyboard) console with 300 stoptabs controlling over 1,500 pipes across two chambers. Among the pipework are actual percussion instruments, including a marimba, glockenspiel, and two xylophones, along with drums, tambourines, cymbals and other sound effects which make the theatre organ unique.